From: Norm Sands
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2014 21:25:07 -0800 (PST)
My students are 99.9% Hispanic (there's me and two other kids in the entire=
school - including faculty and administration that aren'tHispanic LOL).=
While many have suggested locating music of their culture, I have found=
while that may be helpful, it's not "the solution." Music is, after all=
, a "universal language" - it's not the material, it's the approach. As =
with any music program, I try to include music from ALL cultures, not just =
"English music" or just "Spanish music" or just those two. The answer to=
reaching them lies in you. As it is your third year, you are only BEGIN=
NING to become a fixture at your school. You are correct that the older =
ones are probably not yet "your kids" especially since you're in a once-a-w=
eeksetup. =
My school is a "dual language" school which means on alternating days we sp=
eak Spanish. This does not mean "Spanish all day long" because I do have=
some "English" classes (not bilingual) so, naturally, those classes are ta=
ught in English. I do teach my bilingual classes in Spanish if it is a S=
panish day - which gets tricky because my MATERIALS are not in Spanish, so =
the language of INSTRUCTION is in Spanish (as is the social language - "hel=
lo" "please sit down" "make a line" "please raise your hand" "turn to page"=
) but then we may or may not sing or play and English song, so yes, it gets=
very weird...but...in this part of the country, the mixture of the two lan=
guages (and the two cultures) is so common that no one bats an eye. It i=
s very commonplace to hear conversations where one person is speaking Spani=
sh while the other is answering in English and both understand each other c=
ompletely. LOL My word wall is written entirely in both languages
(whenever the term is not Italian) and my basic "always on the board" stuf=
f is also in both languages ("Today I will be able to..." "Please turn to p=
age...") You are fortunate that your students are "nice." My students co=
me with a variety of situations and sometimes they're not so "nice" LOL, bu=
t what I have noticed is when things "go south" it's rarely because it's so=
mething against me or music - it's usually between them, something going on=
at home, something that happened earlier that day, etc.
So I guess my answer to your question is...you're probably just going to ha=
ve to give it some more time. Continue to learn the language. If you =
don't know a word in Spanish - ask them (they like when they get to be the =
teacher!) "Hang out" with your older kids in the lunch room or at recess=
if possible. Let them get to know the fact that you are there for THEM =
and you're not going anywhere. Continue to try to make your lessons rele=
vant, "Why do we need to know this stuff?" Using the instruments is a gr=
eat way to get the concepts across. Set up mini performances if it's pos=
sible - it's easier to get them to focus if they have a "culminating event"=
to work toward. Continue to set up lessons with good teaching practices=
that include periodic assessment and feedback. Let them know "Hey! Y=
ou got it!" or "You know, I think we need to work on this a bit more..." so=
they know they're actually held accountable for subject matter taught duri=
ng
their time with you. And yes, competitions never hurt - boys vs. girls,=
class vs. teacher, blue vs. red, etc. =
Norm Sands
________________________________
>________________________________
> From: Judi Thomas
>To: MK8 Mailing List =
>Cc: MK8 Mailing List =
>Sent: Thursday, January 2, 2014 1:45 PM
>Subject: [MK8] Question about bilingual classes
> =
>
>Happy New Year!
>
>I have hesitated to ask this question because I don't want it to sound lik=
e a "racial" question. But I'm going to try to explain it carefully so hope=
fully it is clear and not offensive. =
>
>This is my 3rd year at a bilingual school. Our population is around 90% Hi=
spanic. I LOVE teaching at this school but I'm still figuring out some thin=
gs. My K, 1st, 2nd & 3rd graders are singing better......not perfect, but b=
etter. I was really excited about the way my 3rd graders sang in their Chri=
stmas performance.....it was noticeably better singing. =
>
>However.......My 4th and 5th graders are nice, cooperative and we get alon=
g fine, but I still don't have their interest in music & musical concepts. =
They love PE and soccer and anything competitive. My thought was to use gam=
es to practice music information but I can't figure out how to PRESENT the =
information so that we have something to practice.
>
>These students were 2nd & 3rd graders when I started at this school. Is th=
is situation because they are not "my kids" that I have grown up in my prog=
ram? I am grateful that they are nice because otherwise this would not be f=
un! (It is also a challenge because music happens only once a week.)
>
>I have tried to play instruments quite a bit and reinforce music concepts =
as we learn pieces. I have tried several of Artie's movement activities as =
well. I never feel like I'm reaching them.
>
>I know many of you teach in bilingual schools with a higher percentage tha=
n I have. I know that many of you have crazier schedules than I do. I am ho=
ping to learn from your experiences!
>
>One more thing.....I'm looking for a composer from Mexico and I'd love to =
hear your suggestions.
>
>Thanks!
>Judi
>
>
>
> =
|=========================
===================3